bundle of nerves
2
4.9
- noun
- /ˈbʌndl əv nɜrvz/
- Informal
:
nervioso
- "It was Thursday at last, and Allegra was rapidly becoming a bundle of nerves, just as she did before every important performance.
In other words, those strangling tumors, which is also to say that my body's a bundle of nerves and I no longer recognize my voice.
- In other words, those strangling tumors, which is also to say that my body's a bundle of nerves and I no longer recognize my voice.
Examples
-
"I know you're a bundle of nerves—and I understand why—but it isn't going to get any better if you won't let me help you.
Fiction book (1991) -
William is a bundle of nerves and exhaustion now.
Fiction book (2000) -
After school that day, Mary was a bundle of nerves, wanting to know what her students had written.
Academic text (2008) -
I'm a bundle of nerves.
Fiction book (1991) -
214 Red sits in the dark, a bundle of nerves, trying to hold himself still.
Fiction book (1994) -
You're a bundle of nerves, Malcolm.
Fiction book (1993) -
"What?" Then he said sheepishly, "Gee-whiz, Scott, I'm a bundle of nerves, I guess."
Fiction book (1993) -
In other words, those strangling tumors, which is also to say that my body's a bundle of nerves and I no longer recognize my voice.
-
Which seems so far away now, but a week ago I was a bundle of nerves when the possibility that Obama might not win hit me hard and left me with an uneasy feeling in the pit of my (it's mine and still fully in my control, PHEW) uterus.
Blog text (13) -
Before her big presentation, Anna was a bundle of nerves as she waited backstage.
Antonyms
How Nervous
Surface Forms
Morphology
The phrase links 'nerves' (nervousness) with 'bundle' (a grouped mass), so a learner who knows both words can plausibly infer someone has a large amount of nervousness. However, this is a metaphorical extension (grouping an abstract state) rather than a literal composition, so the mapping is not fully predictable for all B1 learners without prior exposure.
Etymology
Bundle of nerves gives a clear picture: a tight bundle of thin, shaking nerves all wrapped together. When your nerves are like that you feel jumpy and cannot relax, so the phrase means 'very nervous'.